Complaints Management Review

Complaints Management

Two independent reviews, which can be commissioned separately or together.

Every aged care and health provider and regulator receives complaints. The difference is how they're handled.

Every complaint tells you something. A Complaints Management Review gives you an independent, practical look at how complaints from patients, residents, families, staff and the public are handled in your organisation: what's working, where the risks are, and what to change.

Why it matters

Many complaints stem from communication: a misunderstanding, a question left unanswered, someone who didn't feel heard. Timeliness and clear communication make all the difference. Managed well, complaints can often be resolved early, and can strengthen trust. When a complaint is serious, the way you respond matters even more.

Learning from complaints

Effective complaints management means learning from each complaint and fixing what lies behind it, which over time reduces the number of complaints you receive. Left unaddressed or handled poorly, small concerns can quickly become bigger problems, unsettling your team, eroding patient confidence and putting your reputation at risk.

What's included

1. Initial consultation. A briefing to understand your service, how complaints are currently handled, and any concerns you have.

2. Review of existing information. Your complaints policy and procedures, complaints records and data, and how complaints are reported to management and the board.

3. Staff consultation. Confidential conversations with key staff, including those who receive and manage complaints.

4. Analysis. Your complaints system is considered against the requirements of the Aged Care Act 2024, the Aged Care Rules 2025 and Quality Standards 2.6a and 2.6b, as well as the Australian Standard for complaint management (AS 10002:2022). For private health providers, the standards that apply to your service are used.

5. Report and debrief. A clear, practical report with findings and recommendations, and a debrief to talk through next steps.

Scope. Suitable for residential aged care, home care and private health providers. The review can cover a single service or the whole organisation.

Timeframe. Most reviews are completed within one to two weeks, depending on the size of the service and the information available.

Psychosocial Risk Review for Complaints Teams

Understanding the impact of complaints work on the people who do it

Complaints work can involve frequent exposure to distressing material, and to the anger, grief and frustration that often accompany a complaint. Any effects can build gradually, and may be attributed to workload, a busy period or a number of other causes. In fact, they may well be due to a variety of other causes. The aim is not to assume a link with the work, but to consider whether one exists. Under work health and safety laws, organisations must identify psychosocial hazards and consult with their workers. Complaints teams are often overlooked.

Drawing on your organisation's own information and the experience of your staff, a Psychosocial Risk Review independently examines whether your complaints function may be creating psychosocial risk for the people who do the work.

Initial consultation. A confidential discussion about your complaints function, its structure and any concerns you may have.
Review of existing information. An analysis of information the organisation already holds, such as sick leave, staff turnover and use of employee assistance programs. Staff survey results, and how complex or distressing matters are allocated within the team, can also be useful. Information is requested at team level, in aggregated and de-identified form, so that no individual staff member can be identified.
Staff consultation. Confidential interviews or small group discussions with the people who do the work, which also supports your obligation to consult.
Analysis. Identification of any patterns that emerge across the information reviewed and the staff consultation, and an exploration of whether they point to possible psychosocial hazards.
Report. A written report outlining any areas of concern, the information behind them and, where appropriate, how they may be recorded in your risk register. A briefing for your executive or board can also be provided.

Scope. The review draws on extensive experience in complaints management and regulation. It is not a clinical or psychological assessment of individuals. The report can make recommendations, but decisions about controls rest with the organisation, in consultation with specialists such as work health and safety professionals or organisational psychologists.

Timeframe. Most reviews are completed within one to two weeks, depending on the size of the team and the time the organisation needs to provide the relevant information. Staff consultation generally takes two days or more, depending on the number of participants.

My experience

I've spent 30 years working on health complaints from every side: as a lawyer, medico-legal adviser, health practitioner regulator and in my early career, as a Registered Nurse and Midwife. I know what turns a complaint into a bigger problem, and how to prevent that happening.

Let's talk.